A local area network (“LAN”) permits the interconnection of computers in a local or limited area. For example, an office or work site may create a computer network that interconnects computers, printers, scanners, and other resources to a single network to provide access by multiple users. The Internet is a large collection of networks that interconnects computers over a larger geographic area. The Internet uses the protocols TCP/IP suite to allow devices on one network to automatically communicate with other devices that may be on the same or remote networks. Each such device is assigned an IP address for each active network interface, which allows network infrastructure components to automatically route traffic between target devices.
Generally, in order to access one device across a network or internet, each available device must be assigned a unique internet protocol (“IP”) address to identify the target device. If an address is not unique, the addresses are referred to as non-routable addresses because it is not possible to establish a route (that is, a path through a set of network infrastructure devices) such that traffic from a device on the local network may reach a network interface with the non-routable address on a remote network. This is very common when installing a unique device on a network that automatically assigned an IP address during the installation process. If an administrator just chooses the automatically assigned address, then the same device on different networks will be addressed the same. If more than one network containing this same device is then connected, the two devices are non-routable since their addresses are no longer unique. Alternatively, a target device may be assigned the same IP address as another device if contained in separate private networks, to alleviate the shortage of unique IP addresses available. Such private IP addresses are similarly non-routable if the private networks are later connected. Such non-routable IP addresses lead to greater complexity as administrators seek alternative mechanisms to provide access to remote devices without routable addresses.
Another concern presented by connecting one or more networks through the Internet is the security threat involved. Network administrators may seek to limit access to specific devices on a local network, while still providing remote access to other devices. A network administrator may limit access by developing and deploying network filtering devices or applications that allow them to specify specific address and port combinations that are granted or denied access to or from the remote connection. Although these techniques help reduce security threats, they increase complexity and cost to administrators desiring seamless access to networked devices.
To provide access to or between more than one network that may include the problems identified above, a dedicated device or client software may be installed on the local network that functions as a networked device. This dedicated device or software then acts as a host, assigned with a unique IP address, that all traffic to and from the remote network is automatically routed through the dedicated device or client. However, such a system is generally administratively complex and first requires an administrator to set up the devices on either network, before a connection may be created. Specialized software and/or hardware must be installed at the local network and possibly on each device given access to the remote connection through the dedicated device. Other considerations, such as security credentials must be set and maintained. Accordingly, a significant administrative burden is required to initialize and maintain such a remote system.
Given these challenges, there exists a need for a mechanism to allow simplified and automated access to remote devices using non-routable addresses without the use of dedicated host software and without requiring network administrator privileges on the remote network to set up, maintain or operate the solution.